Sweden’s EQT Names Asia Boss Salata as Chair to Succeed Founder Conni Jonsson

Less than five months after replacing its CEO, fund manager EQT has nominated its Asia boss to succeed founder Conni Jonsson as chairperson.

The appointment of Jean Eric Salata remains subject to regulatory approval and a shareholder vote next May, Stockholm-based EQT said in a release. Salata, who chairs EQT Asia, founded Baring Private Equity Asia in 1997 and joined EQT in 2022 when the Swedish firm acquired BPEA.

The latest move follows the appointment of chief executive Per Franzen, who succeeded Christian Sinding in that post in May. As part of the leadership transition, Jonsson will step down from the board and assume the role of honorary chairperson of EQT, which he helped build from a €300 million Nordic-focused fund launched by Sweden’s Wallenberg family in 1994 into a global group with €266 billion ($308 billion) in assets under management.

“We have always worked tirelessly to develop the next generation of leaders, as professional succession planning is key to long-term success,” Jonsson said. “I know EQT is in the best hands possible, so I have decided that now is the right time to step down.”

From Chile to Hong Kong

A native of Chile who moved to Hong Kong in 1989, Salata led a management buyout of former Barings Bank unit BPEA in 2000. EQT’s $7.5 billion purchase of BPEA three years ago gave the Nordic fund manager its first substantial presence in Asia and brought BPEA’s $19 billion in assets under management into its portfolio.

EQT Asia has since deployed over $35 billion in equity across more than 180 transactions, the firm said. The BPEA Private Equity Fund series continues to make investments and currently backs companies including PropertyGuru, the Southeast Asian real estate listings portal; JD Health, the healthcare platform of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com; and Niwas Housing Finance, an Indian lender to low-income homeowners and small businesses.

Salata’s remit as EQT Asia chair spans private capital, infrastructure and real estate, and he also sits on the firm’s strategy-shaping executive committee. If elected chairperson, he will continue in his existing role and as chair of EQT’s Asia private capital investment committees.

“As EQT enters its next chapter, I look forward to working closely with the board and CEO Per Franzen to continue building this remarkable business, accelerating our global growth, and creating value for our clients, portfolio companies, and shareholders,” Salata said.

Eyes on Japan

Franzen spent nearly two decades at EQT before making the leap from head of private capital for Europe and North America to group CEO this year, as Sinding became an institutional partner and chair of the advisory EQT Council after serving as CEO since 2019.

In an interview this week with Nikkei Asia, Franzen said EQT is set to ramp up in Japan in a broad range of investment fields, including real estate and infrastructure, with the executive labelling the country “one of our absolute top strategic markets”.

EQT in July announced a $2.7 billion tender offer for elevator maker Fujitec and revealed in June that it would sell audio equipment company Pioneer to a subsidiary of Taiwanese LCD maker Innolux.